My Lukyanov rebuttal: Russia’s is an upward and forward path

My first glance at this article in the US-controlled „Moscow Times“ was shocking to me. Silly anti-Putin caricature – and I asked myself: Does Fyodor Lukyanov approve of his article published under such a sub-intelligent piece of superficial caricature?

And then I started reading – and for the first time since I read him I disagreed practically with each and every paragraph.

That makes an answer a kind of tedious homework: going through the paragraphs one by one.

„And once the storehouse of retaliatory measures is exhausted, all that remains is to engage in direct conflict.“

At this point of history it becomes clear: With regard to public diplomacy, to the fact, that this Russian president AND Russia itself BOTH enjoy quite a strong following in western countries: Russia is no better developed or any stronger equipped than Assad or Iran – and thus unable to gain even an inch of political clout out of this golden opportunity. By deliberately and needlessly disregarding the sympathy from western people, in direct contradiction to the aggressive policies of their own disloyal and corrupt governments, Russia stands without any means after the sanctions exchange: direct conflict.

That Fyodor Lukyanov himself isn’t even mentioning this Russian policy deficiency is sad. It was this author who had taken to explain – and he seemed to grasp it, but obviously didn’t. Today we are shocked by the fact, that Stalin and Hitler took their countries to war against each other that easily – and a few dozen years from now the same type of question will arise: Why didn’t the Russian leadership bank on its strength in the West? Millions of sympathizers sick of the corruption and aggressive policies of their detested or at least much-doubted leaders and the vast majority of their MPs and big media?

If western countries developed a new weapon, Russian generals would quickly point out, that they needed the same thing – and within short delay, strategy, planning and budget would be ready. But the very same generals are unfit to see, that the cheapest war is the one not fought, taking into consideration the decades-old US strategy to incorporate a finely tuned engine of secret service activities, propaganda and policies to achieve their goals. Russia has no counter weapon – and nobody complains. The whole Russian system is unfit to answer this challenge by nature and by intent. This author is intellectually unfit to understand this – but has decided to drop all efforts in changing this.

„But that comparison does not hold water because the Soviet Union deliberately isolated itself from the outside world, planning to eventually spread its own ideology around the globe and thus incorporate the „capitalist West“ into the communist system. As history has shown, that proved impossible.“

Completely wrong. Not only did the SU not “deliberately isolate itself”: The SU was isolated by its adversaries in much the same ways the same adversaries try to effect this now with Russia. Western countries succeeded, because they were more successful in unleashing the powers of civil society, while the corporate mafia structures now running amuck nearly completely unhindered, were successfully reigned in under the pressure, among others, of the global Soviet challenge.

Part of this challenge was the existence of communist parties or circles or sympathizer in western countries, plus, for example, quite a powerful peace movement of hundreds of thousands of people in Germany, which was able to truly block overly aggressive stances by Washington and NATO – enjoyed a triumph when put to use by our chancellor Schröder to underline his objections to attacking Iraq in 2003 – and subsequently succumbed to an all-out attack by the transatlantic network and its regime change successes both in Germany and France.

With the downfall of the SU the whole global civilian network went down – and Moscow never even bothered to build a new one, free of ideological burdens and rhetoric challenges due to human rights flaws of the old times. Russia has taken giant steps away from these unhappy old times – thus greatly enhancing its chances of succeeding in the global struggle for hearts and minds of the global populace. But it steadfastly – and much to its own damage – refuses to take any advantage of this point.

„I am saying that once the ruling authorities in a country have been deemed unfit by foreign partners, they can never fully repair relations with them.“

“Unfit” – so what. The corrupt and aggressive is calling the Russian colleague “unfit”? What if Putin calls Obama “unfit” – which would really and honestly cause a global sigh of joy and relief?

After manifold US-led aggressions all over this globe – who should go out and “repair relations”? What the hell is this nice, well-educated, clever Russian gentleman, Fyodor Lukyanov, talking about? And at what time would he suggest Moscow to get out and start to “repair relations” with the US? After Gaddhafi was brutally killed in the streets of his own country by a paid CIA-related mob? After US-fingered mercenaries opened fire on Syrian security? After the second coup in Kiev within ten years?

Well, dear Fyodor, allow me to just recommend this one: Ask Mr. Khodorkovsky in to replace Putin, THAT would definitely „repair relations“. And in no time. Also the caricatures in the “Moscow Times” would greatly improve overnight…

„In the end, nobody doubts that the U.S. and the EU would prefer a radical regime change in Belarus.“

Oh, yeah, wouldn’t we? Is it maybe, that by chance Lukashenko enjoys a certain distance to vital pipeline routes, making him a somewhat “lesser target”? The more so, since he was not afraid to use his global embassy websites to rebut some stupid western propaganda directly, thus making sure that the threshold for any regime change decision by the NATO mafia was significantly raised, pushing his case more towards the end of the hidden agenda?

„At stake is his own political survival and, by extension, Russia’s future political landscape. With the stakes that high, why would anyone expect him to make serious concessions, especially knowing that he can never restore relations with the West?“

Very correct. But unmentioned is the fact, that Putin’s Russia is making concessions every day, the last bigger one being to not imposing counter sanctions to round three of western bullying. Furthermore thee seems to be a certain lack of understanding, that the US is trying to kick Europe into turmoil to thwart efforts of more European political maneuvering space possibly resulting successfully in diminishing US influence in Europe at the same time.

„Russia has fully rejected the pro-Western and pro-democratic model that emerged soon after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Moscow can no longer be said to oppose the old Soviet model of self-positioning.“

Russia has neither “fully rejected” the pro-Western nor the pro-democratic model, Russia just struggles to fight a deadly western embrace including its stupidity-enhancing propaganda, with its horridly unreal “democracy bla-bla”. Western countries are no democracies, the US maybe never was, Roosevelt and Kennedy notwithstanding.

Europe’s democratic leftovers ended finally with the Balkans adventure. Disinformed, subtly oppressed, impoverished and as swiftly and as corruptly managed as propaganda allows, the whole West appears ripe for a revolution.

Should Russia continue to self-position its new global role with a meaningful global network of active partnerships, the one Putin is trying his level best to build, something historically new is going to emerge for good old Russia.

And this author regards this goal as his own in his effort to go out and try and make Germany a part of this historically new experience – alongside our dear Russian neighbor, because this is the best Europa can do for itself.

And if we look back at the Russian leadership emerging from the rubble of the broken Soviet empire: These circumstances of birth are judged by history as either lucky and promising or as unsuccessful. In themselves these circumstances are nothing: What Russia makes out of them is what truly counts.

„It seems that a new cycle of Russian history is beginning.“

Its not a cycle, dear Fyodor, believe me. It’s – hopefully – the upward and forward straight line, right past Washington’s unwitting face – but not at all bad for even the American people, who, in their vast majority, are hoping elections after elections for something similar to emerge from the timidly expected rubble of this long defunct two-party circus re-playing old songs forever. Songs which are just sung since long – but hardly ever lived.